Rapunzel
by Noxialis
Summary: - Squalo/Dino - AU Retelling of Rapunzel - Fair 'maiden' Squalo resides in a tall tower, locked away from the world, his hair the only passageway into his life. Prince Dino is set on entering that life.


**Title: **Rapunzel

**Pairing:** Squalo/Dino

**Summary:** Due to his parent's thievery, Squalo finds himself serving under Xanxus. But when the man is cast out of his kingdom, he locks Squalo away in a tower, where Squalo refuses to cut his hair until Xanxus completes his revenge. Unfortunately, being locked away in a tower comes with unwanted side effects, like princes who can't seem to get a clue.

**Notes: **I own nothing.

Also, Squalo has both hands here.

* * *

Once upon a time, there was a husband and wife who had a lovely young son named Squalo. When young Squalo was five years old, his parents were caught attempting to steal from the royal gardens of the Crown Prince Xanxus, who was heir to the throne of Vongola. The young Xanxus ordered that they hand over their son as punishment, so Squalo would work as his slave. His parents wasted no time and kissed their son on the forehead for the last time before they made their escape.

Squalo was left to work under Xanxus, and while he was originally angry about his parent's betrayal, he found himself growing to respect Xanxus. But it wasn't long after that it got out that Xanxus was not the true heir to Vongola. He was cast out of the palace, and Squalo followed, forever faithful. The two retreated to a tall tower that had been constructed years before by the royal family, and set up base there.

Xanxus swore he would get his revenge on the people that cast him out and regain the throne that was rightfully his. Squalo swore to follow him in his quest, and declared that he would not cut his hair until Xanxus' goal had been reached. Xanxus thought this was stupid, but as long as Squalo learned to cook and clean, he wouldn't complain. Not much anyway.

The tower they resided in originally had a small wooden door at the bottom, and winding stairs that led all the way to the top floor where Squalo lived, but the pair ran into unforeseen circumstances. Years had passed since the two had fled, and stories had begun to run rampant through the kingdom. Tales of how the fair and beautiful Squalo had been taken captive by the cruel Xanxus, and now waited in a tall tower for the dashing knight that might come and rescue him. The two did not know of these tales, and it was only one day when Xanxus was out of the tower, searching for a way to exact his revenge, that Squalo came face to face with the problem.

"Fair Squalo! Fear not!" A loud voice accompanied the loud banging sound of the front door flying open. Squalo looked up from his book and sighed, exiting the kitchen to trek down the spiral staircase. The voice continued. "I, the brave knight Ignazio, have come to rescue you! Where is the foul Xanxus? He will meet his end on the tip of my sword!"

Squalo growled low in his throat and continued down the stairs, the silver armor of the knight slowly coming into view. He leaned against the banister and scowled at the man standing ten stairs down from him.

"What the hell are you talking about?" The knight looked confused.

"You are held captive, are you not? I am here to save you!"

"I don't saving, you stupid piece of shit. I'm not held captive." This man was about three seconds from Squalo running him through. He wished he had his sword on him right then.

"But… Fair maiden-"

"DID YOU JUST FUCKIN' CALL ME A FUCKING GIRL."

"Uhhh…"

Squalo didn't need a sword after all. Knights should always be careful to wear their helmets. Xanxus came back that night and found the dead body at the bottom of the stairs, and Squalo explained to him the tales that were running around the kingdom. They both agreed that it was just a rare occurrence, and that no more knights would come after them.

Technically, the following were princes, but the ones after that were knights. And it became so ridiculous that the two decided they just couldn't keep letting the corpses pile up. So they shoved the bodies into the nearby lake and replaced the door with bricks. The stairs that led to the bottom were destroyed, just in case, and Xanxus order Squalo to put his long hair to use.

"I'm not letting you climb up my damn hair! You'll rip it right out of my fuckin' scalp!"

"So then find a way to make it not do that. You could just cut it off."

"I promised I wouldn't until you got your revenge!"

"God, just shut up, you stupid piece of trash. Just figure something out."

Eventually Squalo relented, tying his hair against his bedpost and letting the rest of it fall over the edge of the tower. That way, almost all the strain was at the bedpost, rather than Squalo's head.

The two settled into a routine. In the mornings, Squalo would serve breakfast, then let his hair down so Xanxus could enter the town, doing all the necessary preparations for his mission. When the sun set, Xanxus would return and call out for Squalo to let down his silver hair.

"OI, TRASH! LET ME UP!"

So Squalo would let him up and serve him dinner, and the two would go to bed and repeat the process the next day. This routine satisfied them for years, and while Squalo would see the occasional knight ride by and try to find a way in, he ignored their cries of how they would save him. Eventually, his tower lay forgotten, devoid of all those annoying knights.

However, it seemed he wasn't quite done with _princes_ yet. Prince Dino of the Cavallone kingdom and heard of the story of Squalo and set out with his trusted assistant Romario to see the man. They rode for a long time, until they entered the Vongola kingdom and came across the tower. He saw no entrance to the tower, so he and Romario set up camp just a bit away, in the forest.

When sunset came, he saw a figure emerge from the other side of the clearing, a tall imposing man that Dino correctly assumed was Xanxus. The man called up to Squalo in their usual greeting, and Dino was amazed to see a long stream of silver hair, glittering in the moonlight, fall gracefully from the top window. Xanxus grabbed it and began scaling the tower, crawling into the window, and after a moment the hair was pulled in as well.

Dino blinked, amazed, and turned to Romario. "How'd he do that without tearing all that hair?"

The next day Xanxus left the tower and Dino formed a plan. He and Romario waited until it was late in the afternoon, then he stepped forwards, clearing his throat.

"Oi! Trash! Let me up!" Dino yelled in his best impersonation of Xanxus' voice.

Inside the tower, Squalo raised an eyebrow, staring at the window at the failed attempt at Xanxus' voice. Obviously some knight had decided to give the tower another go. Still, none of them had ever learnt of the way Xanxus got in and out of the tower. That merited a little peek. He decided to let the stupid knight think he'd gotten it right, and tied his hair around the bedpost, tossing the other end out the window. Soon, he felt the gentle tugging on his scalp that showed that someone was climbing up.

Dino grabbed the windowsill, throwing himself into the room, tumbling onto the carpet with a loud 'oof' and no grace. Squalo looked down at the blonde man, hands on his hips and a scowl on his face. The man really looked like an idiot.

Dino soon rose from the floor and looked at Squalo, gaping slightly. The man was beautiful, and the cascades of silver hair that pooled around his feet gave him the appearance of some kind of moon goddess. Though he had a feeling the man wouldn't like it if he vocalized such thoughts.

"Hello!" Dino said, breaking himself out of his stupor and flashing Squalo a brilliant smile. "I am Prince Dino of Cavallone. You must be Squalo!"

"… Yes…" This man before him was certainly different from the past knights and princes that had attempted to rescue him. He still seemed like a complete idiot, but in a different way than the others. And at least he wasn't spouting on about 'fair maiden' and various other flourishes.

"You're very pretty. Can I kiss you?"

Screw that, he was going to die just like all the others.

But after giving the blonde a few solid punches, Squalo looked outside and realized how close it was getting to sunset. He swore a few times for good measure, then tied his hair around the bedpost and threw it over the edge.

"Get out. Now." Dino had apparently gotten some sense knocked into him, because he grabbed Squalo's hair and started climbing down.

"I'll see you tomorrow!"

"No you won't. Go away."

Dino returned to his camp, where Romario waited for him, and was greeted with a raised eyebrow at the state of the blonde's face. "He's just shy." Dino said with a smile. Romario just sighed and nodded and fished out the first-aid kit, sure that he would have to be doing this for a while.

The days fell back into a routine. Squalo would serve Xanxus breakfast and let him down from the tower. Hardly half an hour later, Dino would show up and ask to be let up. After three days, Squalo actually let his hair down for him. Dino would just talk to Squalo, who would usually just insult him. Whenever Dino started getting too fresh, he would be returning to Romario with a few more bruises in need of care. When the sun began to set, Squalo would let Dino climb out of the tower, then wait for Xanxus to come back and let him up, then make dinner.

After two weeks of this routine, Dino turned to Squalo, who was busy brushing out a knot in his hair. "Hey," he said softly, the curious tone of his voice enough to catch Squalo's attention. Dino continued. "You keep saying you hate me and that I'm stupid and everything, but you still keep letting me into your room. Do you really hate me that much?"

Squalo paused mid-brush, needing a moment to think on that question. Dino was loud and annoying and persistent and clumsy, and Squalo knew he could on and on with the other man's list of faults. But he was a lot less annoying than all the other knights and princes that had come to the tower. Plus Dino wasn't trying to 'rescue' him from a situation he didn't want to leave.

Squalo had become so used to Xanxus' coarse personality, perhaps the endearingly curious and kindhearted nature of Dino was enough to interest him enough to see more of it? The more Squalo thought on it, the more he wasn't sure.

Dino smiled at Squalo's contemplative silence and leaned forwards, sealing his lips over those of the silver-haired man. Squalo's eyes widened and he instinctively brought his fist cradling the hairbrush forwards, slamming the wooden object into Dino's cheek. The motion separated their lips enough for Squalo to attempt to yell at the man. It was rather hard; he found himself nearly breathless.

"What the hell was that, you stupid fucker?!" he managed to croak out, face aflame. Dino smiled, his bright face no less alight than it was before, even with the bruise blooming on his cheek and the trickle of blood in the corner of his mouth.

"That was a kiss." He stated simply, then leaned in again for another, sucking on Squalo's lower lip until the man moaned. He delved into the man's mouth, tongues dancing around blood and saliva in an electrical motion that Squalo fought, he tried to fight, fists thumping against Dino's chest as they sunk lower into the bed, but he found his breath stolen and his body tingling and – fuck it! – it felt _good_.

"OI, TRASH! LET ME UP!"

"Fuck!" Squalo gasped, shoving Dino off him, strength returning with the shock of hearing Xanxus' voice. The blonde landed unceremoniously on the floor, surprise evident on his face as well. Squalo hissed at him. "Get in the damn closet! Go!" He gave Dino a swift kick and the man scrambled to get up and dashed over to the closet while Squalo tied his hair around the bedpost. He threw the end over as the closet door shut, and soon Xanxus was climbing into the window.

Squalo hurried to untie his hair while Xanxus walked past him, intent on dinner. Then he paused and looked at Squalo.

"Why're you bleeding?"

"Huh?"

Xanxus tapped the corner of his lips, and Squalo's hands flew to his own lips, where Dino's blood was smeared. He growled slightly and rubbed at it. "Bit my tongue." He grumbled, and Xanxus snorted and continued towards the door.

Then a loud bang was heard, some clattering, some stumbled swears, and the grand finale of Dino tripping open the closet door, landing on his stomach on the floor.

Squalo growled under his breath and facepalmed. Dino gave a feeble laugh and tried to disentangle himself. Xanxus was looking murderously at this intruder.

Then, without warning, Xanxus launched himself at Dino, not waiting for any pleading or other methods of placation to happen, reaching for the man's face. Dino yelped and tried to dodge, but Xanxus' fingernails caught him, dragging across his eyes. He screamed and stumbled to the ground, eyelids shut over the flowing blood.

Xanxus strode over to him and grabbed the blonde man's collar, dragging him to the window. Squalo rushed over to his side, taking a hold of his sleeve and asking him to wait. But Xanxus just tilted Dino over the edge and let go, letting Squalo lean over and watch as the blonde fell, screaming, until he hit the grass. Romario rushed over with the horses, and Squalo watched as the man hefted Dino's body onto a horse and grabbed the reins, slowly escorting both horses out of the clearing, out of the forest, away from Squalo's tower.

"Come on, trash. I'm hungry, where's some fucking dinner?"

The years passed by, and finally Xanxus' plan for revenge came to fruition. He stood at the throne of Vongola and Squalo was officially released from his servitude. He jumped from the bottom of the ruined staircase and smashed his way through the bricks that replaced the door. He took few possessions with him and left the forest for the first time in almost twenty years.

Though a part of him wanted to remain at Xanxus' side, serving under the man as he ruled Vongola, he was reminded of a blonde prince with a brilliant smile. So he went to the nearest city and found the first barbershop. He sold his hair, his silver locks now cut about his ears, flipping around in a way Squalo had forgotten they could do. He took the money from that and bought himself a ride straight to the capital of the Cavallone kingdom.

While in a shop there, he overheard a pair of ladies gossiping. Their conversation did not interest him until they dropped the name of the king: Dino. Squalo stood dumbfounded for a moment, surprised that the man had survived the fall from the tower. He then turned on the ladies and demanded to know what they were talking about.

"Well," the blonde one began. "Ever since we received news that the man Xanxus was the new king of Vongola, King Dino has ordered that every man with long hair be brought to him."

"We think he's looking for someone in particular, not just some fetish he grew overnight." The brown haired one piped up, still looking through the racks of clothing. "Our brother works as a royal guard, and he told us that the king wanders the halls at night, getting hopelessly lost, while muttering something under his breath about a… something… Sounds like 'swallow'… Or something, I don't know."

Squalo turned from them and walked in the direction of the castle, knowing what he had to do now. He knew he couldn't just waltz into the castle, not with his hair cut short, so he climbed over the stone wall and snuck in easily enough. He would think that the guards were absolutely horrible if he didn't already know he was just that good.

He soon found the throne room, and sucked in his breath upon seeing Dino. His golden hair had grown some, and he held himself with a bearing deserving of the crown upon his head. His eyes were closed, and the pale scars of Xanxus' fingernails were faintly visible in the lighting. Squalo huffed lightly from his hiding spot, and strode out, the rest of the room becoming visible.

There was another man there, with long, streaming silver hair, stepping up to the throne. The silver locks flowed long behind him, and Squalo didn't need to look twice before noticing that was _his hair_. The barber certainly didn't waste any time shipping it off to someone wanting some long hair to fool a king. Squalo growled.

Dino took a handful of hair, gently moving it through his fingers, feeling the soft strands and silently measuring it. As he continued on and on, he stopped, face lifted forwards. "Squalo?" he asked softly, and Squalo saw the grin on the imposter's face. He growled and stomped forwards.

"Like hell he is!" he yelled, kicking the man over, strands of silver slipping out of Dino's hand as the wig flew from the man's bald head. Guards rushed forwards, but Dino stopped them.

"Squalo? Is that you?" Dino asked, hands reaching out towards where he heard the man's voice.

"Course it is, stupid." Squalo scoffed, and Dino's eyes watered up. He stepped forwards and took the man's hands, noticing the beads of moisture that glistened on blonde lashes. He huffed. "Don't fucking _cry_."

Dino let out a soft laugh, and one tear slipping down his cheek, dropping onto the stone below. Squalo huffed again and leaned forwards, pressing a soft kiss to each of Dino's eyelids. "Stop crying." He said, his breath tickling Dino's lashes. They fluttered momentarily, then his eyelids slowly slipped open, just a sliver, then they widened and Squalo found himself caught in Dino's gaze.

"I can see…" Dino said, disbelief radiating from him, but soon he smiled brightly. "You helped me see, Squalo."

"How the fuck does _that_ work?"

Dino just laughed, unable to find an answer himself, and wrapped his arms around Squalo, dragging the man into his lap for a kiss. The guards in the room took this as a cue to drag the imposter to the dungeons and wait for further instructions, then take the silver wig off the floor and somewhere else, again waiting for further instructions.

Squalo sunk into the kiss, returning the favour with enthusiasm, biting and sucking on Dino's lips, his tongue, and moving his fingers against the other man's chest and collarbone and up to his jaw while Dino curled his own through the silver strands of his lover's hair. And somewhere in the midst of this distracting kiss, Squalo got the thought that he wouldn't mind living happily ever after with Dino.

Even if he was an idiot.


End file.
